Iowa adults with several adverse childhood experiences or ACEs are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, asthma and COPD later in life, according to recent state data and a report by the group Iowa ACEs 360.
That nonprofit’s executive director Lisa Cushatt says early trauma prevention is a short-term investment that doesn’t always show immediate outcomes, but she says it’s worth it.
“When we look at increased costs of things like incarceration, of other treatment,” she says, “we are going to continue to have that if we don’t start working from a prevention and early-intervention.”
ACEs are hardships that happened before the age of 18, like physical abuse from a caregiver, neglect, or separated parents. About 40-percent of Iowa adults who have four or more adverse experiences have had depression diagnosis.
The report found Iowa youth who have a trusted adult or friend to talk to don’t feel hopeless as often as youth who don’t. Cushatt says this is an important prevention tool.
“Yes, let’s do training on trauma informed education, or trauma informed schools,” she says, “but let’s also make sure that educators can identify potential trauma triggers, can identify when trauma might be happening and that they know who to connect to.”
The report finds nearly 60-percent of Iowa youth had at least one adverse experience, while 18-percent experienced more than four ACEs.
Cushatt says investment in prevention is about more than home or personal issues, and a higher number of ACEs correlates with a higher risk of mental and physical health conditions later in life.
(By Meghan McKinney, Iowa Public Radio)